Animal category: Poultry

Synthetic and phytogenic antioxidants improve productive performance, antioxidant activity, gene expression, and offspring quality in breeder hens subjected to heat stress

Phocharapon Pasri, Sitthipong Rakngam, Nadine Gérard, Pascal Mermillod, Sutisa Khempaka

Published in 2024

Scientific paper demonstrating the effectiveness of a mixture of synthetic and phytogenic substances in countering the negative effects of heat stress in breeding hens on production, blood chemistry, sperm survival in the oviduct, antioxidant properties, gene expression and offspring quality.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Prenatal issues, Resilience, Robustness, Stress

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Heat stress: Implications of hyperthermia and physiology of layer hens

Roberto Montanhini Neto

Published in 2024

Article describing the effects of heat stress on the feeding behavior, physiology and metabolism of laying hens, particularly oxidative stress. It sets out the benefits of phytogenic feeds in mitigating the adverse effects of high heat on the welfare and production of laying hens.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Resilience, Robustness, Stress

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Providing elevated structures in the pullet rearing environment affects behavior during initial acclimation to a layer aviary

Allison N. Pullin, Christina B. Rufener, Suzanne T. Millman, John F. Tarlton, Michael J. Toscan

Published in 2024

Scientific article reporting that hens with access to elevated platforms during the rearing phase make better use of the space in laying aviaries when they are first transferred there than those reared on the ground. The latter acclimatize within 1-2 weeks, but continue to make little use of the highest level of the aviary.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords:Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Enrichment, Housing, Livestock buildings

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Assemblée nationale : réponse écrite à la question n°11685 : Conditions de transport des animaux vivants sur de longues distances

Question: Mr Jorys Bovet (Rassemblement National - Allier). Answer: French Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty

Published in 2023

Answer to a question concerning the measures taken to control the conditions under which animals are transported over long distances and those that France intends to put forward to improve these conditions when the European regulation on the subject undegoes revision.

Document types: Regulation/Certification

Animal categories:Cattle, Goats, Equines, Sheep, Primates, Poultry

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Stress, Transport

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Guidance: Livestock at farm shows and markets: welfare regulations

Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (UK)

Published in 2023

Update of a guide originally published in 2012 by the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, on the laws and regulations protecting farm animals at shows and markets, with particular reference to compliance rules for pens, cages and hutches.

Document Types: Good practice guide

Animal categories: Bovines, Caprines, Equines, Ovines, Porcines, Poultry

Keywords:Animal trade, Housing, Living environment, Human-animal relationships, Societal issues

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Animal Welfare Committee: opinion on alternatives to culling newly hatched chicks in the egg and poultry industry

Animal Welfare Committtee (UK)

Published in 2023

Report on technologies with the potential to help end the culling of newly hatched male chicks. It identifies the possible risks to welfare posed by their use, and puts forward alternative  ideas and views on the matter.

Document Types: Opinions

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords:Consciousness, Pain, Euthanasia, Welfare indicators, Societal issues, Stress

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Humans can identify reward-related call types of chickens

Nicky McGrath, Clive J. C. Phillips , Oliver H. P. Burman , Cathy M. Dwyer, Joerg Henning

Published in 2024

Scientific article testing whether humans can distinguish between chicken calls produced in different contexts (ie. chickens either expect or don't expect a reward), identify emotional valence (positive or negative) and intensity, and assess how excited chickens are, based on their calls. 

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords:Human-animal relationships, Vocalisation

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Guidance: Poultry welfare off the farm

Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (UK)

Published in 2023

Update of the guide originally published in 2012 by the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), on how to manage the health and welfare of poultry during transport, at market and at slaughter

Document Types: Good practice guide

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords:Animal-based measurements, Societal issues, Human-animal relationships, Transport

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European Parliament: Written answer to Question E-002825/2023: A call to ban debeaking in Europe

Aurélia Beigneux (ID). Reply: Mrs Kyriakides on behalf of the European Commission

Published in 2023

Answer to a question on the measures the European Commission intends to take to limit or even ban the debeaking of laying hens and, more generally, to better control intensive farming and encourage animal welfare on farms.

Document types: Regulation/Certification

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords:Pain, Societal issues, Welfare indicators, Mutilation, Livestock farming system

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Annual report of the EFSA Networks on Animal Welfare 2023

EFSA

Published in 2023

Technical report summarizing the activities of EFSA's network subgroups on animal welfare as presented at their 2023 annual meeting, including the progress of EFSA's ongoing welfare mandates along with two new mandates, on dog and cat welfare, and on use of diathermic syncope for cattle stunning. Discussions took place on various subjects, including hypertypes and genetic diseases in dogs, the need for stunning before the killing of decapods, the assessment of welfare at pasture, and population reduction methods in the event of an avian flu crisis.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories:Cattle, Dogs, Goats, Equines, Felines, Molluscs, Sheep, Pigs, Poultry

Keywords:All subjects

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